60 Minutes
by LilNinjaWolf
Summary: Time is running short and with being buried alive, there's no guarantee he'll be found before he runs out of air.
1. The Cemetery

**Disclaimer: I don't own the turtles or even the idea for the fic. The TMNT belong to ****Nickelodeon**, the idea itself being a challenge from Connie Nervegas. Enjoy the result of the challenge. ;)

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**Chapter 1 – The Cemetery**

The breeze blew passed him, but felt as if it were going straight through him, freezing him to the core. His body shook despite his attempts to still himself. His arms were pulled behind him, wrists bound tightly together. The dark clothed figures were gathered around him, holding him tight at the entrance. Leo's eyes glanced around wearily. Headstones lined the ground in front of the group for miles, or so it seemed. In his weakened state, it could've been only a few feet for all he knew. He was almost too weary to care.

The ninjas in front of him cut through the chain of the gate, the metal falling to the ground with a loud clank.

He was shoved forward, his feet shuffling underneath him. Leo's thoughts returned briefly to his time with his brothers just hours ago. Mikey's over enthusiasm at their present game of ninja stealth and heightened senses, Raph's gruff annoyance at their younger brother, and finally Don's calculated babble describing all the places they had hid in the last game just a week ago. Being captured by the Foot was the last thing he had thought he would have to deal with tonight. It was a simple run, a simple game, one played many times before. Mikey was it and for once, he was actually doing well. He had found Don and Raph much faster than last time. Leo was left, and little did his younger brothers know, he was watching them go right by him. He stayed there for one hour, two, three, unmoving from his spot. They had agreed that if four hours had passed, those still hidden would check in via shell cell just to be sure nothing was wrong. The Foot was a bit more active after all. It was a precaution Splinter requested and Leo enforced. This was to assure that nothing would go wrong, or at least would slow down whatever was going on.

But it didn't work. Or not fully as it was supposed to…

Leo limped down the dirt pathway, past the large and uncared for headstones. He was sure his right foot was broken, but could no longer feel the pain he had felt not too long ago. He was sure he had been missing for hours now, maybe all night. He wasn't sure anymore. His brothers weren't near, he couldn't call them. His cell was taken and smashed at who knows where, but knew it certainly wasn't right here. Could this night get any worse?

They stopped him in front of a large hole in the ground, a gleaming metal casket resting nearby. Apparently it could get worse.

The Shredder stood next to the casket, red eyes gleaming brightly. "And so it ends," he muttered, most likely hiding a broad smirk under that helmet of his. "You will be buried alive six feet under so you no longer are a thorn in my side." He came closer to Leo, lifting the turtle's chin until Leo finally looked at him. "But, I will grant you one thing."

Leo tried to not glance away from the Shredder, knowing full well that if he did, something could happen that he wasn't prepared for. Though he also didn't want to look down at the casket either. He didn't have the strength to put up a good enough fight anymore. They had worn him down, tortured him for hours straight, and finally brought him here for the final deed.

"Do you not wish to know what it is I will mercifully do for you Leonardo?" Shredder prodded.

Leo sighed. "I know you will tell me anyways." He didn't believe his enemy would do anything for him. Why should he stoop to his level so he could be tricked in his last hour?

"I will provide you will an old cell phone so that you may say your goodbyes to your brothers. It is a prepaid, but a first of its kind. Donatello will not easily track it, especially with the signal suppressor that has been attached. You are granted ten minutes for your pitiful goodbyes."

Leo allowed himself a little bit of hope. Just being able to talk to his brothers before he died would make it easier, but he also tried not to hope. The Shredder was known for his lies and trickery.

"Now, drop him in the casket," Shredder ordered.

He grit his teeth, bracing himself for them to close in on him even closer to lift him up. If he didn't act now, there would be no hope. His brothers wouldn't be able to find him. Even if he did get that cell phone, he wouldn't know where to tell his brothers to go either.

As soon as they tried for a tight grip on him, Leo lurched to the left, away from the tightly packed ninjas on the right. He would not be thrown down into the casket if he could help it. He had never given up to his enemies before and he wasn't about to start now. He made it only a few feet before hitting something hard. A headstone he had not taken into account blocked his path. Panicked, but momentarily freed from their grasp, he spun around the headstone and bolted, hoping against hope he would be able to make it out of the cemetery.

Those hopes were dashed when more ninjas flooded in from the entrance, blocking his way out of the enclosed cemetery. Quickly changing course, he aimed for a quick jump over the steel fence. It wouldn't be a hard jump at full strength, but with being tied and only having half strength… well he only hoped he'd make it over and not hurt himself on the spear tips at the top. Two feet away from the fence and getting closer, he bent and jumped as high as he could push his battered body.

He screamed as pain travel through his body, not from the fence's spear-like tips, but from the sudden feeling of his broken foot being yanked backwards. It felt like his foot was being ripped from the rest of his leg. Leo groaned as he landed on his side, the ninjas descending upon him like vultures. He closed his eyes as the beating started, making his already large bruises larger, making his burns come alive in hot pain, making more gashes into his skin to add to his collection of cuts he had already received throughout the night.

Leo couldn't tell when the beating ended, it was just over after what seemed like agonizing hours. Eyes slowly turning upward, he saw the Shredder standing over him, arms crossed and shaking his head.

"You thought you could even stand a fraction of a chance on making it out of the cemetery in your condition?" he asked incredulously. He let out a long suffering sigh. "Of course you would try." He seemed to think something over, then gave his head a shake. "Put him in the casket," he demanded finally.

The Foot ninjas immediately grabbed him, roughly carrying him over to the metal box. It loomed underneath him as he hovered over it for a few precious seconds before they dropped him in unmercifully. A grunt made it out between his lips upon his landing. He wouldn't let out another groan, not wanting to show anymore weakness. Though truth be told, he couldn't move anymore, didn't have the strength.

An object was placed in his hands, the ropes left tight around his wrists.

"I'm sure there's a speaker button on there somewhere," Shredder snickered. "I'll still leave the cell, but you must figure out some way of using it while the ropes remain." His voice faded off for a moment, before echoing loudly. "Close the lid!"

The lid seemed to shut slowly at first and then sped up with a loud bang. Leo flinched at the noise, felt the rocking of the casket as it was picked up and shifted over to where he knew the large hole lay in the ground. He tried once more to move, to break through his bonds so he could shove the lid open before they shoveled the dirt over him. His efforts sadly were in vain, pain racing through him as soon as he budged so much as an inch. A tear rolled down his cheek as he heard the thumps of the dirt coming down on the casket, the fading of the voices, and the finality of it all. He didn't know how long he would be able to last, but he had almost no hope of his brothers finding him. He just didn't know how they would be able to do so in time.

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A/N: This fic stemmed from a challenge by Connie Nervegas from Stealthy Stories. Right now it'll probably be eight chapters in total so I'll probably update it once a week. Possibly twice a week, but Evil Within and Dark Angel still take priority right now, both of which will be updated either Wednesday or Thursday. Simone Robinson also took a crack at trying Connie's challenge which is turning out very well. I highly recommend you check out if you haven't already. Hope you've enjoyed my first chapter!


	2. 60 Minutes

**Some of these chapters may get a bit short, others will probably be longer. With the countdown starting it might get more fast paced. Either way, enjoy. ;)**

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**Chapter 2 ****–**** 60 Minutes**

Leo lay in the dark, listening to the thumps of dirt falling on the casket, each thump resounding a thud that echoed his racing heart. The thumps seem to go on forever. After more than a few dozen thumps, he was sure he heard a creak from the casket. Stilling his breath as much as he could, he waited and listened for the creaking sound to come again. It came again after another dozen thumps of dirt fell down upon the casket. A little louder than the first time, yet still faint enough to not be caught if he hadn't been listening for it. He exhaled, trying to calm himself. His first thought was to preserve air. Perhaps he could last longer than the average human trapped in a box within the earth. Though the pain was so intense through him, he wasn't sure if he would be able to enter into a meditative state. Just the thought that it could help him last longer while he was waiting for his brothers was enough to make him try, but he had to contact his brothers first. Maybe there was some hope of him getting out of this.

He clutched the cell between his fingers and slowly pried the flip phone open, his fingers shaking. He felt along the buttons and screen to determine which way was up to be able to dial correctly. Finding what he was sure was the correct direction, he felt along the buttons, familiarizing himself with what button had to correspond with what number. After he was sure he would be able to dial the correctly, he began to punch in Donatello's number. He really needed his brainy brother to tell him they would reach him in time. He hoped he would tell him he would be alright. He couldn't deal with Raphael's anger or more likely worry now. He would be impulsive, making him worry all the more about making it out of this. Mikey might not get to the point as soon as possible, delaying any chance of his last thread of hope for rescue. He didn't doubt Raph or Mikey, but just a few seconds could make all the difference.

"_Hello?" a familiar voice came through faintly._

Leo's fingers felt along the buttons again, hoping to find the speaker button. His thumb grazed across a raised surface upon one of the buttons. He pressed it, hoping it was the right one.

_"Hello?" the voice asked, now louder, echoing throughout the casket._

Leo breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Don?"

"_Leo? Leo where are you? We've been looking for hours? You've been missing all night. Are you alright?"_

He pressed his lips together, not wanting to make them worry, but he couldn't very well fudge the truth of the situation. His life depended on the full truth. "I need help," he said weakly.

"_Leo, tell me what's wrong. Please, are you alright?" Murmuring followed from the background followed by a loud, "Put the phone speaker!" and a consenting sigh._

"I'm in a cemetery," he began. "I'm not sure which one, but the Shredder…" He knew he had to tell them where exactly he was, though he was a little wary, maybe a little afraid of their reactions. Would there be no hope at all for rescue?

"_What about da Shredder?" Raph demanded. "What did he do to ya?"_

"He shoved me in a casket," he finally admitted, looking up at the top part of the casket, seeing almost nothing in the dark except for the faint glow of the cell phone behind him. The new silence echoed eerily around him. "And they just finished burying it."

Gasps echoed from his brothers. He shut his eyes tight, listing for their voices, hoping that one of them would be right.

_"Don't worry, we'll getcha out. No freakin' out on us, k?" Raph's gruff voice echoed though the casket. "We'll be there."_

_"Yeah Leo, no worries. We're coming." The fear in Mikey's voice was unmistakable._

_"Statistically, you'll be ok for awhile..." Don spoke up, obviously trying to make him hopeful._

"How long?" Leo asked fearfully. He wasn't necessarily afraid of dying, but this really wasn't the way he wanted to go.

_"Should be long enough for us to get to you."_

"Don... how long?" Leo pressed.

_"If they've just put you in... roughly an hour."_

He bit his lip. That wasn't very much time, but it still very well may be the longest hour of his life. "There's another thing... they shattered my cell and gave me an old one to say goodbye to you guys with. There's no way you can track it, can you?"

Silence ensued followed by a quiet _"Donny?"_ from Mikey.

_"Depending upon the model I'd have to hack into a government satellite, which means going home first. I don't think we have that kind of time."_

"And the cell had only ten minutes on it when it was given to me," Leo murmured. He shifted, becoming a little stiff from the position he lay in, flinching in pain.

_"And we've been talking for what… three minutes?" Raph asked._

_"About that," Don answered._

_"Couldn't we just save the last seven minutes to update Leo on how things are going for the search?" Mikey asked. "You know… for reassurance."_

_"That would probably be best," Don agreed. "Is that what you'd want to do Leo?"_

Leo turned it over in his mind. He really didn't want to hang up on his brothers. They were the only connection he had to the outside world. On the other hand, if he didn't conserve the minutes, he would be suddenly cut off from them without warning and he truly didn't want that. "Ok. But hurry."

_"We will Leo. We will," Don answered, a dial tone following his voice._

Leo shut the cell and gripped it tightly, plunged back into the darkness. He tried once more to pull his hands out of the ropes, thinking he had felt a little give in them. His left wrist turned slightly within the rope, but he couldn't yet reach the knot keeping it tied. "Come on…" he murmured. Just having his hands free would let him be at least a little more comfortable while waiting for his brothers. He twisted his arm a bit more, trying desperately to reach the knot. If he tried long enough, he was bound to get to it.

* * *

Raph paced in the dark alley, his worry coming out in waves of anger. He should've known it was the Foot who had taken his older brother. There had been no indication it was the Foot for sure, but he knew. He just knew it was the Foot keeping them from finding Leo during their little game. They were the ones keeping Leo from calling after the four hour mark like normal. It didn't always get to that mark, but tonight it had and royally surpassed it as well.

He narrowed his eyes looking up at the dark and angry sky above them. The clouds were dark and heavy, showing that dawn would be just a couple hours away, but they also blocked most of the light, threatening a hard rain to come. He could already hear the thunder in the distance. It would be fitting just about now…

"So how're we going to find him huh?" he finally demanded, stopping his pacing just long enough to glare his question at his brainy brother before starting up again.

"We know he's in a cemetery," Don started.

"Buried in the cemetery," Raph growled.

Both purple and orange turtles flinched. None of them wanted to dwell on just what kind of predicament Leo was in, especially Raphael. He wanted to just come up with a plan of action and do it. They were wasting time just standing around.

"We'll start with the ones closest to where we were when Leo disappeared. That would be the most likely choice for the Shredder to pick," Donny deduced.

"How many are there around that area?" Mikey asked, eyes wide with fear and disbelief. "One?"

"Three," Don answered.

"We don't have time to search every stinkin' one. Leo's running out of time!" Raph threw back as he finally stopped pacing back and forth, his fists shaking at his sides.

"We'll have to split up, search for uneven ground that would indicate a recently buried casket," Don said slowly. "There's so many cemeteries within the city…"

Raph scowled, knowing Don wasn't going to finish that sentence. There was still a chance that they wouldn't even find Leo in time. He could suffocate within the confines of the casket.

"Then let's go…" Mikey whined. "We have to find him."

"We will Mikey," Don reassured.

Raph didn't miss the doubt in Don's eyes, but hoped his youngest brother had. Mikey needed to hang onto hope right now. And if Mikey was hopeful, maybe Leo would get a little hope during the next call.

"We'll have to stop by Casey's on the way to pick up a shovel or two," Don spoke up softly. "With Leo being six feet underneath the earth, we'll have to dig him up as fast as we can."

Raph narrowed his eyes, the last part of Don's reasoning giving him a shiver down his spine. There would be so much dirt to dig through. He nodded though. Shovels would be best. He turned and started in the direction of Casey's place. He knew the bonehead would have at least two shovels. They were interesting to use on the scum bags of the city during the winter.


	3. 50 Minutes

**Update! :D Almost had this up last night, but a few circumstances prevented that from happening unfortunately. But I hope you enjoy the next installment from my twisted mind. ;)**

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**Chapter 3 – 50 Minutes**

Don checked his watch as soon as they got to Casey's place. By his calculations, it had been ten minutes since the start of Leo's call to them. He licked dry lips and set the alarm on his watch for fifty minutes. That was all the time they had. If they were lucky… There could be so many reasons this could go wrong. He had read all the statistics before, back when it was just an interesting news article in the paper. Someone had actually used the old torture practice in an abandoned cemetery. More than likely no one would notice an extra dead body buried in the ground. However, it had been noticed and the article had said it was an accident, but later news stories speculated on murder or suicide. Nothing was proven, but it had started his own research when the article was linked to the old torture methods. Ones where the victim was locked in a casket for going against his mate for someone else, other times was for murdering your mate, or even for execution in the 1700s where it was used mainly for war prisoners.

He shuddered. Some of the accounts had gotten graphic. It only reinforced the fact that they had to hurry. He didn't know how sturdy the casket Shredder had put Leo in was. Would it be strong enough to withstand six feet of dirt without crushing the lid? Would it enter the casket? Would Leo stay calm enough to give them the next fifty minutes to find which cemetery he had been buried in? There was at least three on the north side of the city close to where they had been running around, each one in an odd place. Leo could be hidden away at any one of them. But for the others, he had to keep his hopes up. There was still a chance, if they could make it there in time.

He barely heard Raph knock loudly against Casey's window. The said window opening after an agonizing two minutes, of which he had kept close watch on while waiting. It felt like an eternity before Casey finally opened the window.

"Do you guys know what time it is?" Casey asked incredulously.

"Five in the morning, big deal," Raph grouched. "We need all the shovels you got."

Casey stared at them blankly. "Uh… for what exactly?"

Don nearly palmed his forehead. In this situation, that was the worst answer Casey could've given. Raphael looked like he was ready to pummel him for it already.

"Shovels? You still got any?" Raph tried again impatiently.

"You know, those large, metal things that people use to move snow if they actually have driveways?" Mikey attempted.

A light seemed to come on in Casey's eyes. "Oh yeah. I got three. Thought I'd try out this new small one with my bat this winter." He backed away from the window, letting the three turtles follow him in. "What do ya need 'em for?"

"To dig Leo up," Raph growled.

Don tried to keep still as Casey moved agonizingly slow over to the next room where most of his equipment was kept. It was grating infuriatingly on his nerves, making him recall the statistics of being buried alive all over again. One of which could be brain damage after just a few minutes of lacking total air. He took a deep breath and let his mind step back from the problem. If they were going to get Leo out of this, one of them had to keep a level head. He pushed back the medical statistics, the rate of survival, and the worry of his brother being crushed beneath the dirt. He couldn't think of that now.

Casey came out awkwardly carrying three shovels at once. "What'd Leo do? Get himself buried six feet deep?" he obviously joked.

Raph let out another growl, snatching one of the shovel's roughly. "Not by his own will," he growled out.

Casey seemed to just blink at him. "You serious?"

"No, we're wakin' ya up in the middle of the night to ask for shovels so we can plant daisies," Raph retorted hotly. "Of course we're serious!"

"Ok ok, no need to shout buddy."

Don almost had to snicker as he and Mikey took the other shovels. Just the fact that Raph was blowing a gasket at Casey was enough to ease some of his tension. Now that they had the shovels though, they needed a plan of action.

"So where to first?" Mikey asked as if reading Don's mind.

"I think it'd be beneficial if we split up. With there being three cemeteries relatively close by, there's one for each of us."

"Fine," Raph muttered. "Let's just go."

"Hey, wait for me. I'm coming too," Casey insisted, quickly disappearing into his room.

"We don't have time for this," Raph grouched.

"We can always use another set of eyes Raph," Don answered. He didn't like waiting anymore that Raph did, but having another person to help in the search was always a benefit.

Casey returned a minute later, a spade in his hand.

"Dude, where'd you get that?" Mikey asked incredulously.

"It was in the alley out back a week ago. Some nut tried to break in during the night. Thought it might come in handy."

"Alright, now that we're ready, where are we headed exactly?" Raph demanded impatiently.

Don thought on the matter, rubbing his chin. "Why don't you and Case check the cemetery off of ninth, Mikey you get the one near thirty-first, and I'll tackle the one on the corner of twelfth and Phelps Avenue."

"Sounds like a plan dude," Mikey agreed.

Don got nods from both Raph and Casey before they all quickly split up. He really hoped they would get to Leo in time. Though the statistics against it weighed heavily on his mind. Don gripped the shovel tightly and took to the rooftops, running as fast as his legs could carry him. This was no time to be slow about it.

* * *

Leo rolled the cell phone over in his hands, clutching it tightly, determined not to drop it. It was the last line he had to the outside world, to his family. He would probably find it if he did drop it, but trying to find something in the dark with bound hands was not at all as easy as first thought. The aches through his body from the beatings he'd had by the hands of the Foot would not help him either. As long as he laid still, he didn't hurt too much. Besides, laying still meant conserving air. He had no idea how much time he had left. He only wished that his brothers were close to finding him. How long would it take? How long until they next called him? Would he even hear their voices again? He couldn't help the shudder that passed through him. He had given up on the ropes around his wrists for the time being. It was not coming any looser and only frustrated him at the moment.

A creak of the casket echoed in the silence, grabbing his attention quickly. He nervously licked his lips and listened. Hearing nothing more for the moment, he turned his thoughts to how he had landed up in this mess. It had started simple really. And hopefully figuring out just what went wrong would help the time pass by more easily. That is if he didn't find a fault or something to obsesses over. Though he couldn't really stop himself from thinking about it either. With nothing to do but lay there in the dark, his thoughts started go in that direction of its own accord.

_He fingered his shell cell, checking the time once more. Nearly four hours had passed, almost time to call the others. Leo was actually surprised they had walked by him three times now. Sure he had found a good hiding spot within an old water tower, but didn't they think to look inside or even under it? His first choice was under it, but after hours of hanging there, he had just slipped inside the old structure instead. Still no sign of his brothers again. Part of him started to worry something may be wrong, though knowing they had passed by just half an hour ago eased his worries. He knew they were fine and would call should trouble arise. _

_He looked at the time again and let a small smile cross his face. Again he had managed to outwit his brothers. It was something he enjoyed during this game of theirs, though he would always keep that to himself. There was no need to go upsetting the others more than was absolutely necessary._

_His thumb covered the button for Raph's cell before he felt the floor give away beneath him. Landing with a surprised thud, he quickly got to his feet, wondering why they were blowing holes in the floor beneath him just to find him. Was it some sort of prank of Mikey's? A glance around him made him freeze, his muscles tensing. His brothers were nowhere in sight, however the number of Foot ninjas seemed limitless._

_Leo's katana were out instantly, hands gripping tight to the hilts. Just that motion brought all the incentive the ninja were waiting for. They lurched forward, rushing him as one. He narrowed his eyes and side swiped to the right, cutting through two swords as he turned. Lifting up his left blade, he blocked one while swiping away the one aimed for his head. Barely having time to blink, he dove to the left, under the arcs their swords made. Coming up, he backed away to give himself more room to maneuver. Backing to the edge of the building, he automatically chanced a look downward, seeing a bunch cars zipping by for the start of early morning rush hour traffic. His gaze turned back to those in front of him, blades coming up to block those of his enemy's. He pushed back against their blades, knowing he had to get word to his brothers. They would be worried already. He spotted his shell cell over by the water tower, where he had first fallen. Frowning, he swiped at another ninja, his leg coming up in a spin kick to knock a handful to the ground._

_Spotting his cell by the old water tower and finding an opening to get to it, he rushed forward, jumping off one ninja to get over another few. He lunged the rest of the way there and grabbed downward for his cell. Arms snatched him, wrapping around him before his hand fully grabbed the shell cell. He was pulled away from it, kicking and struggling against those holding him. The shell cell itself managed to get itself kicked across the rooftop. Gripped tighter, Leo continued to squirm, trying to break free by wearing them down._

_A thump was heard to this left, catching his gaze instantly at the metal armor slowly stood up from a crouch. _

"_Leonardo," Shredder spoke with a sneer. "You should not have come out of hiding. You wouldn't have had to suffer." He walked closer, standing directly in front of him._

_Leo glared at the Foot leader before him. He kept silent, knowing exactly what the Shedder wanted. His hands were roughly pulled behind him, tied tightly._

"_I think we shall continue our business elsewhere. Where your brothers will not interfere."_

_Leo opened his mouth to shout, hoping that they were near enough to hear him. However as soon as he opened his mouth, a rough cloth was shoved inside, tied behind his head. _

_Shredder tisked. "We'll keep this between us Leonardo." He gave a signal, the ninjas starting to push Leo forward._

_Heart dropping, he knew they were heading to Shredder's tower. He could see it looming in the distance. The only good thing he could think of was that the Shredder didn't have his brothers as well._

Leo couldn't help but groan at the memory of coming just short of snatching up his shell cell. If he had been a little quicker he wouldn't be in this mess. He frowned and tried to shake the whole memory from his head. Dwelling on it wouldn't help him at all.

The next creak through the casket echoed louder than the first two had, making him search around in the dark when he couldn't even see anything to begin with. He lay back trying to relax and keep calm. His brothers would come for him. He knew they would. "Hurry guys…" he couldn't help but whisper.


	4. 40 Minutes

**Happy Halloween guys! One creepy chapter for one creepy night, albeit at one in the morning. I just couldn't let the rest of the night pass without an update. Enjoy! :D**

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**Chapter 4 ****–**** 40 Minutes**

Mikey looked down from the rooftop at the cemetery across the street. It was quiet, wind blowing through the few straggly trees. He bit his lip, a quiver running down his spine. The place was just plain creepy and what was more creepy was the fact that Leo had been shoved in a box and buried beneath the ground with other dead bodies. He pulled out his cell to call Don, wondering just how the heck he was supposed to know which grave might hold Leo. There looked like there were dozens in that field alone if not many more. He crept down the building as he waited for Don to answer.

"_Find him?" Don asked as soon as he picked up._

"Um dude… I was wondering **how** I find him. There's so many graves in there…"

A sigh came from the other end. Mikey swallowed. He knew he would be raising flags by calling so soon, but he knew it was better to call and ask instead of wasting time looking where Leo wasn't even going to be in the first place.

"_First, you're going to want to search for loose dirt. The Foot have just buried him recently so the earth isn't going to be compacted. Second,__ if there's grass growing over it, that's not going to be it. _And third, you want to search quickly. There's rain coming very soon. If it pours, it'll be harder to tell which is a fresh grave and which isn't."

Mikey glanced up at the sky, the clouds dark and ominous. His gaze flicked back to the cemetery. He had to stop wasting time. "Ok, I'll call ya when I find him."

"_You mean if__…__"_

"No Don," Mikey said firmly. "I mean when. We're going to find him Donny."

_"Yeah..._ _I know."_

The line clicked. Mikey pushed the cell back into his belt and looked back and forth across the street. Cars zipped by every once and awhile, but the area seemed to be run down enough to be deserted enough to keep people away. Of course cemeteries kind of did that to places…

Donny had been horrifyingly negative on the phone. He questioned his own sureness of finding Leo alive. Leo just had to be alive when they got to him. He just had to be.

Mikey jumped up on an unsteady and broken street light, quickly launching himself three quarter of the way across the street. Landing on his feet in a crouch, he bolted forward, ducking into the cemetery before the next car could pass by. He quickly walked down the dirt path, looking at each grave closely. Each one had a headstone, some creepy in appearance, others more simple as if to soften the effect of a death. However, this did nothing to hinder the worried and terrified feeling in his gut. If they didn't hurry, they would have to rebury Leo after finding him, getting a nice and simple headstone or marker so they would never lose his burial place. After going through this, if he was the only one to take the precaution, he would. He would never lose his big brother again.

His gaze skirted over the dirt, looking for one that would be loosely packed, one without grass growing over it. One like this, according to Donny, would be a high probability of Leo's location. He ended up checking and counting all one hundred and twenty graves before coming to the final one with loose dirt. The one unmarked by a headstone or anything else.

"Hold on Leo," Mikey begged. He gripped the shovel tightly and started digging through the dirt as fast as he could, flinging the soil behind him. He didn't care if it landed on another grave, he only cared about getting to Leo in time.

Sweat trickled down his neck, following the lip of his shell, and down his side. He barely gave it notice beside the fact that it just gave him more chills. His shovel hit something hard, making his heart jump. The shovel had hit the casket below! Renewed with energy, he swept away more dirt, making the whole bigger until he could see the full lid of the almost shiny blue casket. Standing on the lid, he didn't think he could crush the lid anymore than it already appeared to be, but nonetheless he dug out a little spot to stand in the dirt so he would be able to open the casket without having to lie on the ground above and reach down to get a better hold.

Tossing the shovel up, he reached down and unlatched the side of the casket, flinging it open. "Leo!" he cried excitedly.

He gasped at the sight before him, the white of the bone showing through, the handing flesh dripping off the corpse almost directly beneath where he stood. He swallowed and quickly shut the lid, heart crashing. He didn't know whether to be traumatized by the fact that it wasn't Leo or the fact that the human body was in such a state of decay. It would give him nightmare for weeks! He could still see the grey and disfigured skin in his mind.

Biting his lip, he climbed up and out of the whole, replacing the dirt. He didn't want any of the humans to know he had been here, disturbing the dead. That finished, he checked the other graves one last time and sighed dejectedly. Every other one either had grass over it or the dirt was compacted so much it felt like rock itself.

Tears streaked down his cheeks. He had been so close! "Where are you Leo?" he asked quietly, a small sob escaping him. They weren't going to lose him, were they?

Mikey slowly made his way out of the cemetery. He would run and catch up with Raph. The cemetery his hot tempered brother would be going to would be closer than the one Donny was on his way to. He would be able to help search some more, be of some help to Raph in his own search. "Please by alright Leo…" he whispered.

* * *

Leo shuddered in the darkness, trying to keep his breathing shallow and even, trying to keep his heart calm. He could feel dirt trickling in slowly. Not constantly, but enough every once and awhile to convince him there was a hole somewhere in the casket. Another creak echoed in the stillness, loud enough to make him fear that the lid of the casket was bowing inward. What if he was crushed by the lid itself, the metal not strong enough to withstand the weight of the dirt? He had thought that caskets would stay intact in the ground. Though he knew he had never seen what a casket had looked like after being buried within the ground for years.

He tried working again at the knot of the ropes around his wrists. He wanted so much to be free of at least the ropes. After a few more tries, he found that he would have to put the cell down just to be able to put his fingers around the knot for a better hold. He carefully put it down where he knew he would remember where it was and would be able to easily reach it. Another few tries went by unsuccessfully. He growled in frustration, almost screaming out just to be heard by someone. Perhaps his brothers were above him at this very moment and would hear his anguished cry. He desperately hoped this to be so, but was hesitant on wasting air on a scream that would go by unnoticed or unheard.

Licking dry lips, he gave up on the ropes again. It was only getting him worked up, and he really didn't need that right now.

A loud ringing filled the silence, startling Leo with enough of a jolt to make him attempt to sit up, which only resulted in him banging his head against the top of the casket. Wincing, he lay back down and tried to calm himself, tried to save on air. A little calmer, he picked up the ringing phone as best as he could, flipping it open, and hitting the button that he knew to be the speaker from the first use. The casket was lit with an eerie glow, stinging his eyes with the otherwise soft light.

"Tell me your close," Leo begged. He was starting to feel hemmed in on all sides, just wanting a way out of this casket.

"_We're getting there Leo," Don reassured. "We've split up to the three nearest cemeteries close to where we had been before. The Foot had to have brought you to one of those."_

"Ok," Leo said weakly. The startling process of hitting his head on the lid of the casket had only served to aggravate the cuts and burns that littered his body.

"_Are you holding up ok?" Don asked hesitantly._

Leo chewed on his lip. "I guess." Really, he felt he was holding out as best as to be expected. He was going to die if his family didn't make it. He was more than a little unnerved about this, but not overly scared. At least not yet anyway. He could already feel the fear more than he would've liked to.

"_Well I'm almost to one of the cemeteries. Just wanted to check on you. Let you know we're still coming."_

"I know," Leo said without a doubt. He wasn't afraid they weren't looking. He was afraid they were looking in the wrong place and thus not getting to him in time. He could only imagine the extreme sadness of his Sensei, the dullness of Mikey, the bleakness of Donny, and the anger of Raph. His hot tempered brother would brush past anything in his way just to make the Foot pay whether he made it out of this casket or not.

"You'll call again soon?" Leo asked hopefully. He desperately hoped it wouldn't be long until the next call. They needed to conserve the minutes, but he only wished he could stay on the phone until they found him.

_"Yeah, I'll call again very soon. Don't worry Leo, we're coming."_

Leo nodded, if only to himself. "I know," he whispered again faintly.

The line clicked. He closed the cell, his own prison returning to the darkness once more. He used to love the darkness, the way you could blend in with your surroundings so perfectly due to the blackness of the dark. But right now… Right now, he only wanted to get into the light.


	5. 30 Minutes

**Update time. Just one reminder though, it's labled horror for a reason****…**** Enjoy reading, or as much enjoyment as can be expected****…**

* * *

**Chapter 5 ****–**** 30 Minutes**

Raph stalked through the dark alleys and straight through the cemetery gate. His hand gripped the shovel tightly. His pace didn't slow down, forcing Casey to trot to keep up with him. In his mind, there was no time to be slow. There was no time for lagging around, for worrying, for thinking about what could happen to Leo if they didn't get there in time. What there was time for was action.

He eyed the tombstones that littered this cemetery, some straight and sleek, others old and cracked. None of them spoke of being put there recently. He bypassed them, looking for a grave that wouldn't even have a marker. He was looking for one where the dirt looked touched, loose, and broken. If he found one of these, he wouldn't hesitate to dig the grave up as quickly as absolutely possible. There was nothing that was going to stop him from finding his brother.

"Hey Raph, hold up," Casey called out.

Raph swung around, pointing an accusing finger at Casey. "You're not the one buried six feet under the ground! We don't have time for procrastinating! He's been waiting for half hour already. We don't have much time left and your telling me to slow down?"

Casey looked visually shaken, eyes wide. "I… I'm sorry man. I didn't mean it that way. Come on. Let's get back to looking. See anything where Leo would've been buried yet?"

Raph turned away from his friend, continuing on down the dirt path. He didn't mean to lose this temper with the man. He was just strung tight with worry. He shook his head. "Everything has a headstone."

"And that makes it not the right one because…"

Raph scanned the plots in the ground, looking for just one unmarked grave with loose dirt. "Every marked one has had grass growing over it. Those aren't it."

"Oh I see. They haven't been disturbed lately."

"Exactly." Raph continued on in silence, eyes searching. He could hear Casey easily keeping up with him now. They walked through row after row, turned down each path, scanned each plot, and found nothing. Not a single thing to indicate where the Foot had just dug a hole to bury Leo in. Coming to the final grave, he let out a frustrated growl and nearly punched the closest head stone.

"Whoah, calm down buddy," Casey said quickly. "That's not going to help Leo out."

"And this is?"

"Well we've eliminated this one, right?"

Raph blew out a frustrated breath. "Guess so…"

Casey smiled at him. "So let's go meet up with Mikey or Don?"

Raph slowly nodded. "Yeah, yeah let's go…" he turned back down the dirt path, walking absently. They needed to find Leo and he knew they had less than half an hour left now. They couldn't lose him. Not today. He looked up at the sky, feeling a few sprinkles come down. He quickened his pace, heading towards the gate of the cemetery. They had to find Leo before the storm came otherwise they would have no hope of finding him at all.

"Uh Raph?" Casey spoke up hesitantly.

He stopped and whipped around, scowling at Casey. "What?"

Casey pointed at a patch of dirt with no marking, one which looked recently dug and filled.

Raph quickly crossed the distance to the plot, shoving his shovel into the dirt. He flung dirt everywhere but that grave. A spade joined him in removing the dirt, the soil quickly disappearing from the hole. The casket found beneath the dirt was dull, but shown an almost bright green. He shoved more dirt out of the way to be able to open the casket. He ripped the lid open, his eyes going wide in horror.

Two bodies were crammed into the small casket, mutilated enough for him to wonder where one body stopped and the other began. They were clothed in tattered rags, red blood covering most of their bodies, flesh shredded in random places, showing the rotting bones beneath.

"Whoa…" Casey whispered.

Raph slammed the lid shut, shutting his eyes to try and will the image from his mind. "You can say that again," he grumbled. A wave of nausea swept through him as he climbed out of the whole. "Let's uh… put the dirt back…"

"Sure… yeah sure. That was just… way too creepy," Casey murmured, his voice shaking.

"Very," Raph agreed. They quickly put the dirt back over the casket. Once they were finished, they treaded dejectedly back down the path to the cemetery gate. Raph swallowed hard, the horror of seeing inside that casket grating on his nerves.

A form jumped out at him at the gate. "Find him?" the voice asked hopefully.

Raph scowled, his mood darkening at being jumped at in this kind of situation. "No Mikey."

Mikey's smile faded as he hung his head. "Me either."

Raph sighed and put his arm around his younger brother. "We'll find him Mikey. I promise."

Mikey looked up at him, a faint smile on his face before it completely disappeared. "I hope so."

* * *

_He tried to pull away from their punches, away from the beating they were giving him. Each fist collided with him without missing. His skin was surely turning colors all over his body by now. Leo thought he could handle this kind of beating. This was far from what he had thought. A heavy boot crunched down on his foot and without a doubt he knew it was broken. Halfway through, the Elite guard entered, carrying large iron rods. He growled, pulling at his bonds. Hands gripped __him _tighter from behind, shoving him forward. The iron rods where flat, but thin at the end. They glowed red as if just coming out of a hot fire. He tried to push his way backward, but didn't have the strength to push against the ninjas behind him like he needed to. 

_The rods came closer, touching his skin briefly before staying in contact for agonizingly long seconds. He wasn't sure how long it lasted between each touch from the hot metal. He was just grateful for the gag in his mouth, the only thing keeping him from screaming out in pain. _

_He didn't know how long had passed, but the beating continued on, this time with swords, spears, and shirken. Cuts quickly littered his body. He lashed his leg out forward, managing to knock down a few. Though this only resulted in retaliation as a blade slipped quickly down the very leg he had just used. His struggles became weaker and weaker as the beating and cutting continued. He wasn't sure how long had passed until he finally saw Shredder once more, the order to still finally coming._

"_It'd be fun to toy with you more, but I have business to attend to. You however will get acquainted with an abandoned cemetery." He snickered softly. "After all, what's one more dead body laying amongst the dead?"_

Leo shivered, his mind racing with the memory. He had been swiftly taken to the cemetery where he watched them dig the hole. The gag was finally removed on the way there, but by then he had had no strength left to cry out. He didn't think his brothers were anywhere nearby anyways.

He swallowed, tightening his grip on the cell cradled desperately in his hands. Weren't his brothers close yet?

A layer of dirt continued to build at his feet. He absently wondered how long it would be until the casket was fully filled with dirt. He most likely wouldn't be alive that long to find out if he wasn't found. The creaking continued. He was sure he heard the lid bow inward even more. If he lifted his head just slightly, his beak would hit the top of the casket now. It hadn't been like that when he had first been put it. Swallowing, he tried to slow his breathing once more, tried to calm himself until he no longer took stock of his surroundings. They were coming and he knew they would be there soon.


	6. 20 Minutes

**Well it's update time again. Whoo! :D I do have news though. Simone Robinson is going to be starting a TMNT podcast, which I quickly got in on, but we do still need more help if anyone is interested. Or else just to watch since a podcast needs viewers too. :) More info can be found on Stealthy Stores. Also, there's a link to the thread in my profile. **

**Now, onward to the chapter. Enjoy. ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 6 ****–**** 20 Minutes**

Don pried the lid open on the second casket, relived to see nothing but ashes littering the bottom of the box. He would've rather have seen Leo inside, but it was a relief to not to have found another casket filled with rotting bones, blood, and flesh that was broken and torn as if an animal had gotten a hold of whoever it was and eaten him for dinner. He gave another shudder at the thought. He could almost imagine feeling razor sharp teeth skittering down his arm, ripping into his flesh, and snapping through his bones as if they were twigs. He shoved the taste of bile from his mind and closed the nearly empty casket before him. This was reburied quickly, distastefully, and with frustration. There was no other spot within this cemetery where Leo could be buried. He only hoped Mikey, Raph, and Casey had had more luck. But with no calls… he just hoped they weren't done searching yet.

Don gripped the shovel tightly, walking to the gate of the cemetery with a heavy heart. "Where are you Leo?"

There were a few other places he could think of to look if the others didn't find Leo, but they were too far away to get to within twenty minutes they had left according to his watch timer. At this rate they were fighting a losing battle.

He nearly jumped out of his skin, if that was possible, when he walked out of the cemetery to see three dark forms. Putting a hand over his racing heart, he warily glanced at his family as his hand dropped back down. "You didn't find him." It wasn't a question. He knew they would've called or Leo would be with them if they had found him.

"No," Raph grouched.

"Just a lot of dead bodies," Mikey whispered faintly.

Don groaned. This was just what they needed.

"Where else can we look?" Casey asked. "Isn't there more nearby?"

He shook his head. "No, not that I know of. I mean it's possible there's an abandoned one not listed on any of the modern maps, but…"

"Wait a minute Don. If Shredder's going to bury Leo so we can't find him, wouldn't it be in an abandoned one not listed on any of those maps?" Raph asked quickly.

He slowly nodded. It was a very likely possibility. But how would they find that out?

"Hey babe, you awake?"

Don blinked and turned to Casey, realization donning on him as he saw their human friend was on a cell, no doubt calling April.

"So the big lug does have a brain," Mikey whispered to him.

Don almost smiled, though it never reached his lips, not when the stakes were so high.

"Sorry… we need a favor Ape," Casey went on. "We need you to look at old maps, if there's a way to do it on the net or something, for any cemeteries not listed on any of the updated maps." The man paused, glancing at them as if he could feel the eyes of three turtles watching him anxiously. "Anything?" he asked after awhile. "Really? That's great! You're the best Ape. Thanks, I'll explain soon, ok? Yeah ok, bye."

Don bit his lip. It sounded like good news, but he really didn't want to get his hopes up. "Well?" he asked cautiously.

"April says there's one cemetery not too far away that's not shown on any of the maps for the last few years," Casey reported.

"You think that's it?" Mikey asked, hope thick in his voice.

"Hopefully," Don said. Maybe they would get to Leo after all. Maybe being the key word here. "Where did she say it was?"

"On Elk and forty-ninth," Casey answered. "So just a few blocks I guess."

"Ten actually," Don said. "But that's still closer than going all the way across the city." He sighed. This had to be the right one. If they were wrong, Leo would pay the price. "Come on, let's go."

The others nodded, following Don's lead. He could feel the worry and frustration flooding off his family as they ran. This was just not right.

* * *

Leo groaned in frustration. He'd had it with the ropes around his wrists. They just weren't budging. He had tried a third time and didn't know if he was too weak to pull the knots from the rope apart or if the knots were just too tight to begin with. He clutched the cell, willing it to ring again.

His heart about soared as it did in fact ring. He ripped it open, flooding the casket with its blinding glow, grateful to be able to get rid of the darkness. "Anything good?" he asked fearfully.

"_We're on our way to the next cemetery and we're pretty sure it has to be the right one," Mikey said, hope filing his voice._

Leo felt relief at this and tried to relax a little more. "How many cemeteries have you been too?"

"_Three. Nothing but dead bodies there."_

Leo shuddered. If his brothers were having to dig up the dead just to find him… He shivered at the thought of what they had seen.

"_It wasn't a pretty picture," Mikey said quietly._

"I'm sorry," Leo murmured ashamed for what they had to see to find him. He shifted and winced, the pain most intense in his broken foot. He had to remember not to move anymore. He had mostly forgotten which parts of his body were in the most pain with just laying still in the casket. Now though, everything just plain hurt.

"_Don't be. We'll keep digging until we find you," Mikey reassured him._

"_Count on it," Raph's voice rumbled across the line._

Leo smiled faintly. "I know."

"_We're about seven minutes out from the cemetery. When we get there we'll-" _Mikey's voice was cut off with a dial tone that buzzed for a few seconds before falling silent.

"Mikey?" Leo asked. "Mikey?" He tried dialing his brother's number again, but when he listened for it to go through, nothing happened. He dropped the cell, knowing he had run out of minutes for the thing. He bit his lip. He had just been cut off from outside world, from his family, from his final hope. They were coming. He knew they were coming. But they had already searched three cemeteries. He knew they weren't going to stop, but what if they were wrong? What if he was miles away from the one they were going to search now? Leo knew he didn't have much time left. He could already feel the staleness of the air around him, making him light headed.

Without having to be fully alert for calls and wanting to try one last ditch effort to save his last reserves of air, he shut his eyes and took a shallow breath. He let his body relax fully, willing his pain from his mind, willing away the stress, worry, and fear. They were coming. That was a fact that no one could take from him. Finally having the focus he needed, he slipped into a meditative state, albeit not as easily as he would've liked. Here, there was no fear or stress. There was only calm and peace. He would make it through this. He had to, for his family.


	7. 10 Minutes

**Chapter 7 ****–**** 10 Minutes**

"Leo… Leo?" Mikey asked again. He pulled his shell cell from his ear and looked down at it, certain he had just paled with the worry churning in his gut. "Donny!"

Donny turned slightly to him as they ran. "What is it Mikey?"

"Leo's not answering," he said quickly.

They stopped running as they came to the edge of the city, or just about the edge anyways. Don turned to him. "What happened?"

"I was telling him how far out we were and how we were going to split up to search faster, but then a dial tone rung. I thought he'd accidentally hung up on me, you know?" Mikey explained. "So I waited awhile to see if he'd call back, but I just tried again because he didn't and… and got nothing…"

Don turned away, gazing across the street before checking his watch. "We've got ten minutes," he mumbled and looked back up at Mikey. "We probably used up all the cell's minutes."

Mikey nodded, trying to ease his worries. Yeah, that's all it was.

Raph clenched his fists. "This the place?" he grumbled, nodding toward the cemetery across the abandoned street.

"Yeah." Don swiftly led the way across the street.

Mikey quickly caught up to them, glancing at Casey, who for once wore an unreadable expression. He quickly stopped before running into Don's shell. "What's the holdup Donny?"

Don pointed to the broken chain hanging from the open gate. "We're on the right track."

Raph scowled, moving closer to inspect it. "How you figure?" he muttered gruffly.

"It's been cut clean through. Recently even," Don explained. "Come on. Leo's here somewhere."

Mikey felt hope surge through him at Don's words. They were so close and still had the time. "We're here Leo," he whispered. "Please hang on." He clutched the shovel tighter, listening to Raph give the orders. He licked his lips, nervous relief starting to creep in on him.

"Don, you search the southwest portion, Casey the southeast, and Mikey the northwest area. I'll take the northeast section." Raph eyed each of them, grim determination in his eyes.

Don nodded silently, a glance exchanged with Raph before he disappeared.

Casey took one more look at Raph, nodded to his friend silently, and turned away to his own section of the cemetery.

Mikey saluted to Raph's instructions. "Gotcha." He trotted off to his own section of the cemetery, having no doubt that Raph would've seen the worry in his eyes, but he also hoped his brother saw the hope too. Raph's whole body spoke of tense frustration. He felt the same way, but they were _so_ close now.

He paced through the rows of graves, searching for an unmarked one, searching for one with loose dirt.

Thunder crashed overhead, lightning splitting the sky as thick rain drops finally began to fall, lightly at first followed by a heavy downpour.

Mikey started running, searching the graves as fast as he could. If the rain pushed down on the dirt hard enough, they wouldn't be able to find the right one as easily as before. But they had ten minutes. And they were here.

"Come on Leo. Where are you?" he asked himself.

Each grave had lush grass growing over it.

He quickened his pace.

Each grave had a tombstone marking it.

He clutched the shovel even tighter.

Each grave was hard packed into the ground, showing no disturbance for years.

Mikey sprinted through the last row, seeing nothing that would show him where Leo was. "No…" He searched wildly, going through his section a second time, trying to ignore the pouring rain that was drenching him from head to foot. "Leo!"

Thunder crashed, drowning out his voice.

"Where are you?" he cried out through the rain.

* * *

Leo lay perfectly still, his breathing shallow, his mind far from the casket. But he could still hear each and every noise that seemed to be enhanced by both the silence and his meditative state. The distant sound of thunder, the vibration of water hitting the ground as if it was pouring buckets of water upon the earth, the creaking of the casket lid. He could've sworn he felt the lid of the casket almost resting on his shoulder now. Lying on his side, he would be the only thing keeping the lid from caving if the weight of the dirt and water from what was probably a storm became too much.

The air was becoming more and more dry against his skin…

He pushed those thoughts from his mind, trying to dig deeper into his meditation. _They're coming. They're coming. They're coming._

The chant continued to course through his mind, but one question would not leave him alone.

Was he ready to die?

* * *

Don let out a scream of anguish as the thunder boomed, the wind carrying the sound of thunder for miles, blocking out his own scream. He had searched his section twice now. Even with the pouring rain, he knew there was no chance that Leo could be where he was looking. He had to be in one of the others's sections. He had to hurry over and help them.

A frustrated cry carried across the wind, followed by another peal of thunder.

Don spun around, searching for the source, his eyes landing on Raph surrounded by dozens of Foot ninja. The Foot's presence only confirmed that they were right on track picking this cemetery to search. Leo was here. And Raph appeared to be guarding one grave. One unmarked by any tombstone.

His eyes widened as he willed his feet to move. Raph had in fact found the exact spot where their enemies had buried their brother. It could be the only explanation of the Foot revealing themselves for an unmarked grave. He ran faster, trying to get to the far northeastern section of the cemetery. He could already see Casey halfway there. He could also see Mikey not too far behind in spotting Raph and running to join in on the fight.

Nearly there, Don ripped his bo off his back and swung it forward with his right hand, bapping the heads of the closest ninja. He took in Casey on the left edge of the ninjas and Mikey now forcing his way through on the right side of the group. He himself shoved through the ninjas, raising his bo with one hand and the shovel with the other to block the incoming swords, ducking down to avoid punches, and even sliding under a few on the muddy ground. The rain had brought them that blessing, if only the slippery ground was not turned against them. It would make digging Leo out harder, but they still had time. He checked his watch and grimaced, trying to force his way through. He pressed all his weight into every attack. Now was not the time to be thinking about how his attacks would be affecting their enemies. He had to get to Raph so they could get to Leo.

Because one minute was all they had left.

He broke through with a leaping kick to clear two of the ninjas blocking his way to his hot headed brother who was taking out ninjas as if they were flies.

And yet they were still coming.

"He's here," Raph panted, shoving his fist through the body of one and shifting to kick another.

"We don't have much time."

"I don't think these guys are gonna give us the time to dig him up." Mikey spun a chuck, joining them, still holding onto the shovel with one hand. He hung onto it for dear life. For Leo's life.

"Then we'll make time," Raph grunted. "Casey, Mike, hold 'em off. Don, help me dig."

Don nodded and saw Mikey and Casey go side to side in an effort to keep them away from the grave and away from him and Raph. He slid his bo back onto his back, panting as he started to dig with the shovel.

Thirty seconds.

He pushed down into the dirt, Raph's shovel sinking down into the muddy ground with his own. Together, they dug and threw the dirt away. Two shovelfuls in, Don smirked and threw his third shovelful at the ninjas attacking his little brother and friend.

"Hey, watch where your throwing Donny," Mikey complained over the rain.

"But keep it up," Casey insisted.

Don didn't have time to see what effect the flying mud was having on the ninjas, but he gave no hesitation as he continued to dig, noting Raphael was now doing the same with the dirt he dug up.

Fifteen seconds.

They pressed down harder into the thickly caked mud. He didn't have to tell Raph to be careful the farther down they got. If they were to hit the casket too hard, it would only get the shovel stuck in the metal. They did not have time for that.

He shoved the shovel in again and felt arms encircle him before he could finish pulling it out once more. Don was dragged backwards, the shovel instantly leaving his grip and falling with the thud onto the mud caked ground. He struggled against whoever held him, feeling metal against this skin. He paled and continued his struggles, taking in the sight of Mikey and Casey tied together with rope. Hadn't they just been faring well with the fight? Even if they warned him and Raph, they wouldn't have heard it over the roar of the wind and rain.

Don was dropped down on the ground, a weight settling over him as his wrists were tied behind him before he could jump to his feet in time. Tied securely, he was shoved across the mud into Mikey and Casey, his eyes glaring dangerously at the Shredder before him.

Raphael was still standing, still fighting. He was their only hope for getting Leo out in time. But right now… Don doubted they had any time left.

They had lost.


	8. Time's Up

**Hold tight guys. The ride's still a bit wild. One more chapter after this.**

* * *

**Chapter 8 ****–**** Time's up**

Raph glared viciously at the Shredder in front of him. He couldn't believe he had let Donny be pulled away from him. He hadn't even heard a thing over the rain and thunder. He dropped the shovel and ripped out both of his sai, clutching them dearly. If they lost Leo over this, the Shredder wouldn't live to tell about it. He would pay. No matter what, he would pay.

Though Raph knew with every fiber of his being, time was up.

* * *

Leo felt the lid pushing down on him, crushing him despite trying to keep up with his meditation, to keep his mind from dwelling in his predicament. The air was becoming drier. He held in all his breath, but with not having his lungs full of air for the past hour, he didn't know if he would be able to last. And deep down, he knew he was out of air now. The pressure on him felt thick, the air so stale.

Death was coming. He could feel it within his heart and it was not comforting.

* * *

Raph scowled darkly at the Foot leader, knowing he was pushing away from anything resembling sanity. They were going to pay for what they were putting his family through. For all the dead and decaying bodies they were forced to dig up during their search, for the panicked worry. But most of all, for burying Leo in the first place.

He bolted forward, slashing through the ninja on the right, digging his sai deep in the man's stomach. He wrenched his blade out in his fury, turning to the next bunch without hesitation, heart pounding in his ears as he slashed right through a shoulder, left through a leg, and forward through another stomach. No one was safe from his blades. No one was left alive.

Looking around, he breathed deeply, seeing the Shredder standing alone before him, but no doubt confident. That was about to change.

"You've run out of time," Shredder muttered lowly.

Raph's eyes narrowed even further, barely containing his rage. "He'll hold on."

The Shredder chuckled lowly. "If you want to believe that, be my guest."

Raph let out a vicious growl. He had been pushed just a little too far tonight. The rain poured down, the thunder clashed, the lightening lit up the dark morning sky for the briefest few seconds. "Let's do this," he snarled, rushing forward, sai extended. He leapt up, slashing forward, kicking his leg out.

Shredder leaped backwards, kicking his own leg out to block and knock the turtle to the ground.

* * *

The sound of rain on the casket became louder as if a large layer of the dirt had been removed recently. Leo bit his lip, trying to keep in his meditative state, but he was slipping and he knew it, the sounds becoming louder now in his ears. It was becoming harder and harder to stay within his mind. His lungs were starting to burn.

* * *

Raph hit the ground with a thud, groaning from the impact. He leaped up to his feet, charging forward once more. He jumped up with a flying jump kick to the Shredder's head, this one connecting briefly as the Shredder back flipped out of the way. He snarled again, forcing everything from his mind to focus on beating the Shredder to a pulp.

He threw a punch at the Foot leader, knocking him to the ground. Raphael's satisfaction was short lived as the Shredder was quickly back to his feet as if the punch had done nothing, the Foot leader running for a jump kick to Raph's plastron.

Raphael flew backwards into a pile of bodies before his reaction could kick in.

"Ow…" Mikey moaned, two other groans accompanying his. "Did you have to land _on_ us?"

Blinking, Raphael smirked, cutting his family loose. "Let's make 'im pay," he muttered darkly. He saw the same determination in Mikey, Don, and Casey as he felt raging through his own heart. Together, they raced forward, attacking the Shredder as one.

Raph leapt up for a downward slash to the Shredder's chest.

Mikey came from the left with a spinning whack with his chucks.

Casey raced from the right side, swinging his hockey stick.

Don jumped up with the use of his bo, landing behind the Foot leader and spinning with a powerful hit to the back.

The Shredder stumbled forward from the force of the blows. He spun towards Don, raising his metal spiked hand, bring in down for a quick downward strike.

Raph narrowed his eyes, waiting a split second for Mikey to get out of the way before he charged forward, shoving both sai straight through the center of the Shredder's back. The strangled groan brought no satisfaction to his ears as he watched their enemy sink to the ground.

* * *

Leo gasped as he was forced back to reality, no longer able to keep up his meditative focus. Spasms raked his body as he tried to take in air that wasn't there anymore. His lungs burned fiercely as if they were on fire, his head swam as the lightheaded feeling came upon him. He jerked and pulled, trying to ignore the pain as he tried to claw through the ropes, to any sort of freedom he was being denied. To get out from the walls closing in on him. To try with all his might to defy death.

* * *

Raph kicked the Shredder over onto his side, sure that the Foot leader wasn't going to suddenly jump to his feet right then, and ran back to the hole he and Donny had started to dig to get to Leo. The others quickly joined him. No one had to say anything. They knew Leo was out of time and yet they still had two feet of thick mud to get through. "You have to get through his Leo," he muttered under his breath.

Dirt started flying, sweat and rain poured off each one of them. The urgency was think in the air and no one dared say a word.

Their shovels and the spade made quick work of the last two feet of mud, a badly dented casket coming into view. Crushed so badly, Raph worried the collapsed casket had killed his brother quicker than any lack of air could.

* * *

Leo shook and coughed, trying to pull in any amount of air that he could. The crushing weight of the lid was not helping him. The walls seemed to be pushing in on him with more determination, crushing him, making him suffer all that much more.

He could feel himself fading in the dark, though this only fueled his attempts to somehow stop himself from dying of lack of air, even though there was no way that could be possible on his own now. His body shook, his thoughts raced. This was it. This was his death.

He barely noticed the sounds of metal hitting the casket.

He hardly heard the creak of metal or saw the faint light showing down around him.

He barely even noticed the rain suddenly falling on him.

Leo could only wither in pain, trying to get free from a death that he couldn't be free from. He faintly heard his name being called, sure that he was going crazy from being locked in a casket for so long.

Hands touched his shoulder, clutching him tightly.

"Breathe Leo," one voice yelled.

"Come on Leo. Breathe in," another voice urgently begged.

Leo suddenly inhaled, the air rushing in, burning his already burning lungs. He coughed on the oxygen, the darkness still nipping on his vision.

"That's it Leo, calm down," a third voice spoke. "Breathe in, breathe out."

He locked onto that voice, swearing it was Donatello, though he was having trouble concentrating on which voice was who, or even if the voices were real at all. He harshly took in another breath and another, continuing to do so, trying to calm and still his pain filled body.

The rope was slashed from his wrists, arms snaking under him, lifting him out of the casket. Leo shuddered, being soaked in the down pour, breathing deeply, yet still struggling on the precious air. He felt arms hugging him, words rushed together along the lines of trying to be comforting.

"Don't do that again," Raph growled good naturedly in his ear.

Leo nodded faintly, realizing that this couldn't be any dream or last throw of death. It was real. He couldn't help the painful groan that escaped his lips. His spasms for air had brought fire to every injury had received. He had no doubt he had aggravated the cuts that had settled down. He could feel blood dripping off of him.

"We have to get him home," Don urged.

Leo's eyes started to slide shut, not being able to stay awake much longer. The pain was becoming too much, but the cool air was sweet to his lungs.

"Just rest Leo. You'll be alright," Raph murmured.

Leo felt his body relax, barely noticing he was being carried by his red masked brother. All he cared about was that they had found him. A faint pain filled smile of relief crossed his face. They had found him.


	9. Epilogue

**Chapter 9: Epilogue**

Mikey found his red masked brother still sitting by Leo's cot in the lab. It had been two days now and Leo had yet to wake up. Don had said that Leo needed the rest, that his body had taken on immense stress from being beaten as he had, from being buried alive, and finally losing all of his air supply. He guessed that was true, but he wished Leo would still wake up.

He sat down silently in a chair next to Raph and quietly watched Leo's chest rise and fall, giving testament to that fact that he was still alive. They had been so close to losing him, to digging up one more corpse. He shuddered as the images of the dead body he had dug up passed through his mind once again. It had given him nightmares, but not as badly as seeing Leo gasping for air, his body bucking, fighting hopelessly to get free. He would have nightmares of that for weeks. Seeing the bags under Raph's eyes, he knew his brother was having the same nightmares as well.

Don wasn't faring that well either. He was the one who had known the full danger Leo was in during their search and after they found him. The stress was wearing him down. He had been the one to patch Leo up, putting him on a tank of oxygen as soon as they had gotten home. He said it would help Leo to not suffer any effects from loss of the air he'd had. But Mikey didn't really understand all that. All he knew was that for the next two days it had helped his older brother. Don had taken him off of it an hour ago and yet Leo was still unconscious.

Splinter had been horrified of what the Foot had put Leo through. Mikey could not forget the look of shock and horror when they finally told Splinter what had happened. He had only just left Leo's side to get another cup of tea. He had stayed near Leo just as much as Raph had. As he and Don had too now that he thought about it. No one wanted to leave Leo alone. Not after nearly losing him like that.

What bothered him the most was the fact that as soon as they had pulled Leo from the casket, the Shredder was gone. Oh sure there was a puddle of blood being washed away by the down pour, but the fact remained. The Shredder had disappeared. Raph had gotten this look in his eyes that said he was about to go chase down the Foot leader. One moan from Leo had him ordering the group home. Leo needed their help more.

Mikey kept silent as he finally took one of Leo's hands and gave it a squeeze. Donny said he would wake up soon, the question was when. His older brother's body was covered in bandages, his right foot wrapped up in a cast. He wouldn't be getting out of bed anytime soon, but he would never be left alone. And he would be alive. That was the most comforting thought despite his brother's condition.

A moan made Mikey jump, Raph jerking beside him as well. They both stared at Leo, his eyelids flinching.

Raph jumped up and ran to the lab door. "Don, Sensei, get in here!" He quickly returned, sitting back down next to Mikey and leaned forward.

Mikey licked his lips as he heard footsteps running in to stop behind him and Raph.

Leo's eyes opened, a faint smile crossing his lips after a moment. "I knew you'd come," he whispered faintly.

The thick tension left the room as if someone had just unplugged the cork sealing it in.

"Of course we came," Raph grunted. "We weren't gonna leave ya six feet under."

Leo's smile widened slightly. "I know."

Mikey didn't miss the relief or the faint horror in his eldest brother's eyes. An involuntary shiver passed through him. What had it been like to be buried alive? He swallowed thickly. He really didn't want to know. "We thought you weren't going to wake up."

Confusion crossed Leo's face. "Why?"

"You've been asleep for two days bro," Raph grunted.

"What?" Leo gasped, eyes going round.

"Chill bro. Ya needed it. If ya hadn't noticed, you're pretty banged up."

"It's just your body's way of healing itself," Don replied.

Leo leaned back against the pillow, seeming to deflate a little. "I guess so."

Splinter put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Regardless, you are awake now and it is good to have you home once more."

Leo nodded, bags showing under his eyes.

"I believe it is time for you all to get some rest. Healing is something that takes time, but energy as well," Splinter advised. "There will be time to listen to all the events in the morning." Splinter gave Leo's hand a squeeze and left the lab, a smile of reassurance on his face.

Mikey couldn't help a yawn. He really was more tired than he thought, but the thought of more nightmares didn't sit well with him. He looked at his brothers, a thought occurring in his mind. "Can't we all just bunk in here?"

Don looked at Raph, Raph looked at Leo, and Leo looked at Mikey.

Leo shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Mikey nearly grinned. "I'll get more pillows and blankets!"

"I'll get the extra cots set up," Don offered.

"And I'll go call Case, let him know ya survived," Raph grunted, but smirked at Leo.

Leo smiled and seemed to relax as some resemblance of peace settled over him.

Mikey left to gather all the pillows he could. Hopefully by bunking together, the nightmares would stay away if only for just one night.

* * *

Leo lay in the dark with his brothers surrounding him. Two were breathing deeply and even. One was lying awake in the silence just as he was.

"What was it like?" a gruff voice asked.

"It was dark," Leo answered after some hesitation. He almost didn't want to talk about what he had just gone through. It was too soon, but the darkness around them now... It made his chest tighten and quickened his breathing. He could feel Mikey's hand grasping his arm as if afraid to lose him. Don's arm brushed up against his, just to know he was near. Even Raph's shoulder seemed to be touching him slightly.

"The cell offered some light for awhile," he continued to whisper, hoping he wouldn't wake his other brothers. He didn't want to talk about this now, but at the same time, if he didn't say anything, he didn't think he'd be getting any sleep any time soon.

"I thought we were going to lose you before we even got to the right cemetery," Raph whispered.

He nodded, knowing that had been one of his own fears. Though there was one thing that bothered him more. "Mikey mentioned you guys dug up dead bodies trying to find me."

"Yeah. But don't think we're sorry we did. We woulda dug up a hundred bodies looking for you."

Leo smiled slightly, but remorsefully. "Thanks..."

"Yeah well. We gotta stick together and stay alive, right?"

"Right," Leo agreed. He just wished he his brothers had never had to see that. He couldn't imagine what it was like to dig up a dead corpse instead of their brother. He also wished the dark wasn't so frightening, but even now it made him feel as if the walls were caving in around him, making his breathing increase just a little more. The claustrophobic feeling mentally transporting him back to the crushed casket.

"Hey," Raph spoke up again. "What's up?"

Leo bit his lip, mentally trying to shake the feeling from his head, hesitant to divulge this little secret. He didn't want his brother to think less of him.

"You've been through hell Leo and survived. Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. They're sleeping, you can tell me."

Leo let out a long sigh, deciding to just get it over with. "The dark makes it seem like the walls are closing in just like the casket did," he murmured, feeling ashamed of his fear.

There was silence before Raph rolled off the cot and shuffled across the room. A small light lit up at the far end of the lab. Raph returned and silently lay back down.

He blinked, a tear leaking down.

"Don't worry Leo. It'll go away. I know you, you won't let this control you." Raph paused. "But it doesn't hurt to have a little help if ya need it."

Leo nodded. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Raph muttered, turning over, a snore echoing after a few silent minutes.

Leonardo let out a breath, feeling the tightness in his chest ease. The walls were no longer closing in on him. The darkness wasn't oppressive. His body was battered, but he would heal, physically and mentally. That is, if he accepted his family's help. But really, was that such a bad thing? He really didn't think so as much anymore. He let out a breath, grateful for the wonder of the feeling of air passing through his lungs, and slipped off into a relaxed sleep.

"Never look back. That's where the shadows are." – Anonymous

The End

* * *

Well I hope you all enjoyed the fic despite the nail biting tension. :) I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed this. Each review was always the highlight of my day to which I always looked forward to. I will be updating Dark Angel next now that I'm not carried up in burying Leo alive and hope you all have a great day!


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